Life jacket pouches are in use throughout the world in aircraft made by the most famous manufacturers. The principal requirements to be set for life jacket pouches are that the opening edge of the pouch be reliably closed under normal conditions so that the life jacket it contains is available for use intact, while allowing the seat occupant to open the closure device rapidly and by especially simple means when the need for use or an emergency arises. Conventional life jacket pouches do not fully meet these requirements. In the current customary design, the closure device has a flat fastener provided on the opening edge of the pouch in the form of a pad and hook strip through which the tear flap extends. While the pouch itself can be rapidly and easily opened when necessary, the closure device does not afford adequate certainty that the pouch will not be opened unintentionally.
DE-A-199 44 619 discloses an aircraft passenger seat with a life jacket being mounted and with upholstery components enhancing seating comfort. The mounting option is represented by at least one upholstery component. The life jacket is designed as an integral component of the respective upholstery component located on the top of the leg rest. The upholstery in question is replaced by the life jacket, so that weight reduction relative to conventional solutions is effected, providing a favorable effect on the payload situation in the aircraft. By simply spreading the seat occupant's legs, the life jacket integrated into the aircraft passenger seat as an upholstery component is rapidly accessible. This solution provides adequate safety from unintentional opening of the folded life jacket, and represents another modern concept of integration of a life jacket into the aircraft passenger seat. Since a leg or foot rest is necessarily provided in this solution, the solution normally applies only to aircraft passenger seats in the first-class or business section.